Name: Bitter Mai Tai
Total time: 4 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 40 ml Red bitter liqueur; 20 ml 100% pot still rum; 10 ml Orange Curaçao; 25 ml Lime juice; 22.5 ml Orgeat syrup

Bitter Mai Tai
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Photographed in a Kahiko MaiTai Black 12oz

Ingredients:
1 ¹⁄₃ oz	Strucchi Red Bitter (Campari-style liqueur)
²⁄₃ oz	100% pot still rum (40-45% alc./vol.)
¹⁄₃ oz	Orange Curaçao liqueur
⁵⁄₆ oz	Lime juice (freshly squeezed)
³⁄₄ oz	Monin Almond (Orgeat) Syrup

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

Select and pre-chill a Double old-fashioned glass.
Prepare garnish of lime slice wheel and mints sprigs.
SHAKE all ingredients with ice.
STRAIN into glass filled with crushed ice.
Garnish with lime slice wheel and mints sprigs bouquet.

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

Orgeat (almond) sugar syrup (2:1) - Nuts

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Review:

Just as it says on the tin! Recognisably a Mai Tai and bittersweet.

View readers' comments

Variant:

Mai Tai (Trader Vic's)
Mai Tai (Difford's)
Mai Tai (Beaumont-Gantt's)
Tia Mia
Well-oiled Mai Tai

History:

Adapted from a recipe created in 2019 by Jeremy Oertel at Donna Bar in Brooklyn, New York City.

More cocktails by Jeremy Oertel

Nutrition:

One serving of Bitter Mai Tai contains 242 calories

Alcohol content:

1.2 standard drinks
14.14% alc./vol. (14.14° proof)
16.6 grams of pure alcohol

More Bittersweet (e.g. Negroni) cocktails

Difford’s Guide remains free-to-use thanks to the support of the brands in green above. Values stated for alcohol and calorie content, and number of drinks an ingredient makes should be considered approximate.

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Mike Beatty

18th May at 23:18

I will up the rum to a full ounce next time. A lot of orgeat, but surprisingly not too sweet. Very good drink.

Loïc Pierre

7th February at 20:12

Really interesting, quite sweet. Made with Smith and Cross that is highly recognizable in the cocktail. I would repeat it with a more neutral rhum to see what happens.

Natasha Cloutier

28th October 2023 at 18:12

I floated a bar spoon of Wray and Nephew on top, possibly because I don't like Campari and it was nice. Still fonder of the original Mai Tai though.

Chris Dimal

25th June 2023 at 10:47

I have to say this was delicious, but less complex than the original Mai Tai. Fair bit Campari forward, which is pleasant, but doesn't stack up to multiple dimensions of the original.

John Champion

11th May 2023 at 19:37

I always say that the easiest way to get someone into Campari is with a Jungle Bird. Once they're hooked I say switch them up to a Bitter Mai Tai. Bolder and more bitter but still very much tiki. A complex and truly delicious riff.